To help find the princess, the Chings have employed Shao Kang and his army of bandits who are spread throughout the countryside, and almost immediately Ti Long finds himself defending the princess from their attacks. He decides he needs a little more help, so they seek out his sister (Judy Lee- Queen Boxer, Lady Constable, Iron Monkey Strikes Back ), who is working at a restaurant in a nearby town. Unfortunately the restaurant owners, a former girlfriend of Ti Long and her new husband, a greed driven and underhanded couple, discover the secret of Ti Long’s companions. The Chings are alerted once again, and Ti Long, his sister, and the princess are on the run, with the added threat of the restaurant owners, aligned with the bandits and Chings. They devise an interesting way to hide the jewels (a way that will probably upset animal rights activists), and make their way to a teahouse in the middle of nowhere.

The teahouse is an ambush spot, where they are taken captive and eventually must escape the clutches of the evil pursuers, only to run into an army of Chings and the deadly Ching prince. It becomes an all out deadly melee between the opposing sides, Ti Long, his sister, and friend, (also getting a little help from a scruffy transient) trying to defend the future of the Ming rebels, the Ming Princess and fortune, against the bandits, the Chings and deadly Ching Prince.

THE FILM:
Revenge of the Patriots (1977, aka. The Ming Patriots, Bruce Lee’s Big Secret) is a solid, story driven kung fu film. It is not a flashy martial style movie, or a film that focuses on some form, stunts, or weaponry. It is not a Bruce Lee styled ‘invincible hero’ film. It’s not a Gordon Liu training film. Revenge of the Patriots is a desperate chase adventure, where every blow is deadly and painful, and the heroes do not come out of a battle unharmed. The heroes are beaten from location to location, barely slipping out of capture, their dogged enemies never giving up and around every turn. There are slight touches of humor and the seemingly unstoppable fighter, devices one is used to in kung fu films, but overall it is fairly devoid of many such clichés. While there may be no great spectacle to the action (choreographed by the legendary Lui brothers), it is a refreshing change of pace from the outlandish action, making Patriots sort of a more straightforward action film. There are touches of Spaghetti Western in the score, and the direction has some neat flourishes- like when the White Haired Fox is introduced, slowly dismounting his horse, casually removing his hat and cape while walking forward, never taking his eyes off his opponent, not the least bit intimidated, deadly cold and menacing. Usually it is the stars that make a film, but in this case the story and direction take the reigns and make this film an interesting adventure.

But, that is not to say they film doesn’t have its stars. No, it is filled with classic martial stars, from Carter Wong, to Chang Yi, Wai Man Chan, Judy Lee, and Bruce Li. Probably the two most interesting characters are the transient Ol’ Wheelie, who fights is a style I would call, Coward Fu, slipping punches, ducking, hiding, maneuvering his way out of danger, expertly, and able to attack if he wants to, all while looking frightened. But, perhaps best of all, Judy Lee gets to take a kick butt female role, something that was fairly rare in the classic days of kung fu. No wimpy or dainty kung fu for her, she is all dagger throwing, kicking- punching , badness. And, with a good set of villains, from the dumb but deadly bandits, to the greedy husband and wife, to the stock white haired main villain, to the virtuous heroes, it is a nice cast of characters all around.

I really enjoyed Revenge of the Patriots. Sure, it is nice to see the wacky wild chop socky films, the crazy weapon fighting, or the superhuman hero, but this very straightforward film was a welcome deviation. It may not have some of those wild or amazing moments that imprint themselves on your brain, but as a whole, it is so well executed and paced, it is a welcome addition to a kung fu fans film collection.

THE DVD:
Ground Zero presents another Region 0 addition to their extra packed and budget minded Hidden Chambers Collection. Revenge of the Patriots is a “lost” kung fu film, and this presentation marks the first time Ground Zero has tried their hand at restoration. Sadly, this is an amateurish and sloppy restoration job, full of many glaring problems, the least of which is sloppy editing.

PICTURE: Compiled from at least three sources I can see (a sharp, strong colored print, a print with severe blemishes, and a print that is well worn, very soft, and washed out) it switches between them quite obviously. It becomes an annoying distraction, as within one scene, you will go through several changes in quality, from a good looking shot, to one with decay all over it. An attempt was made to matte the picture in widescreen, but the ratio seems off, stretched and cramped, at times almost like a square tv print was crammed into widesceen. I never thought I would say ‘restoration’ is a bad word, but in this case, it is, because the people behind the restoration, and especially Ground Zero for approving it, have a long, long way to go and should perhaps rethink their restoration careers. It would have been far preferable, to maybe release two cuts of the film, find the two best sources, ones obviously differing from each other in content, and release it like that.

SOUND: Likewise, the English dub, 2.0 mono sound suffers severely, not only does the picture quality change from source to source, but so does the sound quality. It goes from muted quiet, to blasting loud between scenes, so obviously its like turning a cd player volume from 5 to 10. Overall, no matter which source, the sound has quite a bit of hiss and distortion to it, much to the detriment of the cool soundtrack and dialogue.

EXTRAS: Aside from the film, itself, being good, the extras help lessen the blow of the lackluster, amateur presentation. First the usual Wu Tang stuff, like music video, interview, and audio soundbite. Then the Temple of Knowledge section, a brief Q&A with two martial practitioners. Ground Zero commercial and weblink. 18 Fatal Previews , 20 mins of fight clips from eighteen films (including Snake Strikes Back, Shaolin Vs Lama, and Mysterious Footwork just to name a few) . And then, the good stuff- Cast and Crew bios, featuring bonus fight film footage (once again, unspeciafied what films, which is a major peeve) and interviews with the films stars- Bruce Li, 5 fights (roughly 9 mins) and a 2 min interview- Chang Yi, 5 fights (12 mins)- Judy Lee, 4 fights (9 mins) and 2 min interview- Chen Hui Min, 5 fights (10 mins) and a 5 min interview- and finally Carter Wong, 5 fights (around 8 mins) and a 2 ½ min interview in which he is wearing a Self Defense for Women t-shirt. Also, before the film begins you get two trailers, a first for Ground Zero, finally tacking on some trailers for the feature.

Once again, Ground Zero presents a strange problem. In terms of presentation, as a reviewer, I have to tell most people to skip this DVD. However, for die-hard, old school kung fu fans, because of the great extras and rarity of the film, they may want to pick it up, but be forewarned of the poor quality.

The Ming Emperor is murdered by the Chings. The Emperor’s advisor Teacher Wu dresses up their leader’s daughter as a boy to avoid detection since there is a price on her head. Teacher Wu and a Ming patriot (Carter Wong) escort the Princess through the villages to avoid the Ching soldiers, led by the Silver Haired Fox (Chang Yi). Teacher Wu carries the Emperor’s will and the royal jewels to keep them hidden from the local bandits and soldiers. They are under the protection of a Ming patriot, who effortlessly defends his charges from the soldiers. Teacher Wu and the Princess manage to escape the siege, while their protector succumbs to the martial arts mastery of the Silver Haired Fox. Meanwhile, a man named Ni Ti Long mourns the death of his father, who hated the Chings. With his father’s death, Ni Ti Long has taken over the family business—an escort (bodyguard) service. Teacher Wu and the Princess recruit Ni Ti Long to escort them on their journey to Kang Nan, where they are meeting up with the Ming Commander Chow. Ni Ti Long realizes how dangerous the journey will be so he recruits his close friend and sister (Judy Lee). Ni Ti Lung travels to the restaurant where his sister works as a cook. Unbeknownst to him, his former lover Chu Hing (Tso Yen Yung) and her husband Chi Yun (Chan Wai Man), who is also a rival, plot revenge against him.

The Silver Haired Fox orders the ruthless Sho Kang to lead the Ching soldiers and defeat the Ming rebels, and then retrieve the royal jewels. As Ni Ti Long and Chi Yun settle their old score inside the restaurant, the soldiers arrive and surround the house. The Ming rebels beat Sho Kang and his soldiers, and Ni Ti Long escapes with the Princess. The Silver Haired Fox himself arrives to check out the carnage and finds the Princess escaped. Ni Ti Long’s former lover Chu Hung and her treacherous husband work out a deal with Silver Haired Fox—they will work together in tracking down the rebels in exchange for a portion of the jewels. Knowing that the odds are against them, Ni Ti Long hides the jewels inside a dead pig where no one would ever think to look. Ni Ti Lung guides the Princess into a safe house, where an old woman welcomes them and serves them tea. However, the old woman turns out to be Chu Hing in disguise! The tea is poisoned, and the rebels are all captured. One by one, each member of the group is tortured, but every one of the Ming patriots refuse to relinquish the location of the hidden jewels. The alliance between Sho Kang and Chu Hing is based on greed and deceit, and so is not a strong one. The Silver Haired Fox himself comes to take command of the situation. Ni Ti Lung and the other rebels free themselves from their bonds, and must face their Ching oppressors if they are to deliver the Princess unharmed!

Even though REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS stars Bruce Li in a lead role, this is not a Bruceploitation picture. It has nothing in common with Bruce Lee or any of his "imposters". Instead this is another historical drama set during the Ching Dynasty, and Bruce Li doesn’t imitate his namesake. Bruce Li admitted he wasn’t proud of going the Bruceploitation route, but that he was bowing to studio pressure since he looked like Bruce Lee more than anyone else in the industry at that time. So it must have been a breath of fresh air for him to disassociate himself from that image, and immerse himself in character as the male lead in this ensemble epic. REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS also stars Judy Lee, another beautiful martial arts actress who followed in the footsteps of Angela Mao and Lily Li. You can see her in action in QUEEN BOXER, SHAOLIN INVINCIBLES, and IRON MONKEY 2 (those last two are available on DVD from Tai Seng and Xenon, respectively). Villain specialist Chang Yi gets star billing as the evil White Haired Fox. You can see Chang Yi as other notorious martial arts villains in THE VICTIM, EAGLE’S CLAW, and SHAOLIN KUNG FU MYSTAGOGUE. Chan Hui Man is usually typecast as a villain too, and if you’ve seen MYSTERIOUS FOOTWORKS OF KUNG FU, CHINESE SUPER NINJAS, and INVNCIBLE KILLER, you know what we are talking about. Wang Yue has a supporting role as Bruce Li’s ally. Wang Yue is the star of many Kung Fu classics like DIRTY KUNG FU, DIRTY HO, and THE MASTER KILLER. Carter Wong is also in the film, though it amounts to little more than a cameo and he only performs one major fight sequence. Carter Wong has graced well over a hundred martial arts films, and some of them are available on DVD, namely BORN INVINCIBLE, THE FATAL FLYING GUILLOTINE, and SHAOLIN INVINCIBLES.

Thankfully, the plot of REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS is not driven by the typical revenge motive. The film is actually political in nature, examining the conflict centuries ago between the Chings and the Mings. The political aspects motivate the characters to behave the way they do. The Silver Haired Fox is the Ching Leader who seeks to kill the daughter of the slain Emperor. Ni Ti Long is an escort who puts his life on the line to aid the Ming cause, and ensure that the Royal bloodline continues. Chu Hing and Chi Yun are an ambitious duo with no loyalties to either side—they worship only the value of money. Because they know Ni Ti Long and his sister, Chu Hing and Chi Yun exploit their knowledge of them, so the soldiers of the Silver Haired Fox get the jump on Ni Ti Long, who is leading the Princess to safety. This allows for plenty of intrigue, plot twists, and suspense that the above synopsis won’t ruin. Director Ah Yeung Chuen is inspired by Chang Cheh, and mixes bloody mayhem with the Kung Fu combat sequences. Ah Yeung Chuen is also obviously inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, because he incorporates lots of dusk shots of the sun setting on the plains. REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS even has a genuine Spaghetti Western score!

SIGHT
The packaging proclaims that REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS is fully restored for the very first time. Unfortunately, this "restoration" seems to have been slapped together from various sub-par sources. First of all the film’s original 1.66.1 widescreen ratio has been shucked in favor of a 1.33.1 transfer. This loss of real estate is not the problem; it’s the quality of the transfer that’s lacking. Ground Zero’s restored version is overly dark and murky (see the screenshots on this page) to the point where you can’t make out a thing. Granted, director Au Yeung Chuen filmed much REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS at night and at dusk, but even he wouldn’t approve of this lackluster presentation. It appears the film was reconstructed from several poor VHS sources. Just check out the theatrical trailers (which are all letterboxed) and you can clearly see how the film was supposed to look. You can tell when different versions of the video sources were used because the movie keeps switching back and forth, but none of the video masters utilized for this transfer exhibit any sharpness, clarity, or depth. Ground Zero’s own CHINESE SUPER NINJAS has gained a reputation for being one of the worst full frame transfers released so far, but that DVD looks like the Criterion Collection compared to this one.

SOUND
The audio is PCM Mono 2.0. The audio presentation fares better than the video portion in that it is not totally ruined, although there is some inconsistencies. The sound is loud and clear, and all the characters are well dubbed. As the video is culled from various sources, so too is the audio. Unfortunately, all the volume levels are out of whack—sometimes the dialog is louder than everything else, and then in the next scene the dialog is normal. Many of the restored sequences exhibit background noise and/or tape hiss. Because of the poor video quality, I found myself listening extra intently to the character interaction, as you cannot follow the film on visual acuity alone. The sound effects consist of galloping hoof-beats, clashing spears, and bone-jarring martial arts strikes and blows. Behind it all is a sensational musical score that is reminiscent of Spaghetti Westerns. I also noticed that the original themes are supplemented by stock music from other martial arts films of the same era.

FEATURES
From the Main Menu, you can select the Special Features-menu to access the various extras. There is a sub menu called Ground Zero that provides their Website information and previews of Ground Zero’s Urban-themed productions. Also from the Special Features menu, you can access the Wu Tang Clan sub-menu and watch a short interview with rapper Papa Wu (FF, DD 2.0, 4:19). Papa Wu doesn’t talk about REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS (or any other Kung Fu film) though. Rather, the Rapper gives a tour of the Wu Tang Clan’s high-tech studio. This sub-menu also features a music video (FF, DD 2.0, 3:54) and a Lyrical Recital (FF, DD 4:19.0, :36). In the sub-menu called Temple of Knowledge, real life Shaolin monks and martial artists Abbott Guo Lin and Master Ren Guang Li answer various philosophical questions posed to them. Other features on the disc include 3 trailers for REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS. One is a 30 second TV spot, and another is the full theatrical trailer that refers to the movie as THE MING PATRIOTS. The last trailer is the original Cantonese language trailer with English subtitles. All three trailers are widescreen and in the film’s original ratio of 1.66.1. It’s a shame the feature itself doesn’t look as good as these trailers.

Back at the Special Features menu is another sub-menu where you can read the talent bios for Bruce Li, Judy Lee, Chang Yi, Chen Hui Min, and Carter Wong. At the bottom of the screen you can select from 5 bonus fight scenes for performer. These bonus fights scenes are from various movies in varying condition--some are widescreen and good condition, while others are full screen VHS quality. From these respective talent bio screens, you can play interview clips with Chen Hui Min (FF, DD 2.0, 5:02) and Carter Wong (FF, DD 2.0, 2:09). These recently conducted interviews are in Chinese with English subtitles. While the quality varies for much of the bonus fight footage, the Ground Zero produced trailers are in much better condition. Most of these trailers are full frame and run 1:04, some are widescreen as indicated below.

SHAOLIN DRUNK MONKEY (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
SNAKE STRIKES BACK (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
OVER THE WALL (1.66.1, Mono, 1:04)
STRIKE OF THE MANTIS FIST (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
ONE FOOT CRANE (1.33.1, Mono, 1:03)
EAGLE FIST (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
SHAOLIN VS. NINJA (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
SHAOLIN VS. LAMA (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
10 BRONZEGIRLS OF SHAOLIN (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
BEST OF SHAOLIN KUNG FU (1.66.1, Mono, 1:04)
5 VENOMS VS WU TANG (1.66.1, Mono, 1:04)
9 VENOMS (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
FIGHT AMONG THE SUPERS (2.35.1, Mono, 1:04)
GOOSE BOXER (1.85.1, Mono, 1:04)
MYSTERIOUS FOOTWORK (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
CHESS BOXING VS. BUDDHIST FIST (1.85.1, Mono, 1:04)
SHAOLIN CHASTITY KUNG FU (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)
ENTER THE INVINCIBLE HERO (1.33.1, Mono, 1:04)

CONCLUSION
Ground Zero really dropped the ball with this one, and it’s too bad, because REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS is a quality old school actioner. Plus, advertising this as "restored" is a sham. I know REVENGE OF THE PATRIOTS is considered a lost film, but if this the best they can do, perhaps it should have stayed lost. Ground Zero deserves much of the credit for packaging as much added value onto a DVD as possible, and raising the bar for others to follow, but they should be more careful to present their films uncut and in the best condition possible. Not every classic Kung Fu film lends itself to a quality presentation; so what good is Kung Fu choreography if you can’t see it?